Living large on less, or living frugally, has been a hot topic in the news lately. There was an article in Business Week called The New Age of Frugality and a recent episode of Oprah had a segment on a family living frugally.
Though it is making recent news, it is how my husband and I have been living our lives as long as we can remember. We both grew up with parents of the World War II generation who had grown up in the years following the depression. The values they instilled in us were those of saving more than we spend and spending less than we earn. We both adopted those values and have had fun living large on less. We have lived this way regardless of where we were living (New York or North Carolina), regardless of out income (which had fluctuated a lot), regardless of what the stock market was doing, and regardless of what others were doing.
Do we have to live large on less? No, it is a choice that we have made and continue to make because we truly believe that we can have everything we need and most of what we want at a price that fits our budget. We make our choices by thinking about what matters most and why we want what we want. We are resourceful and feel rewarded when we accomplish something we had to learn (like installing flooring ourselves) and feel satsisfied knowing we can live on less than we earn (regardless of our income). I truly believe that everyone can live large on less. It will mean something different, and look different for everyone, but it is possible!
A friend of mine and professional organizer, Janice Russell of Minding Your Matters Organizing also believes in living large on less and often writes about it in her blog. You can check it out at http://www.mindingyourmatters.com/blog
Stefanie Zizzo, Career and Life Coach, www.stefaniezizzo.com